Television graphical user interface having channel and program sorting capabilities

ABSTRACT

A TV graphical user interface is provided with a graphical channel changer for enabling a user to select a required TV channel among about 1000 channels offered by a satellite TV system. The graphical channel changer contains a vertical channel bar composed of channel boxes that display numbers and logos of selected TV channels. To switch the TV set to a required TV channel, the user directs the pointing device at the graphical channel box that indicates the required channel. A program guide that contains a list of TV programs may be provided based on the channel changer. Vertical program bars that display TV programs are aligned with the channel boxes indicating TV channels that carry the corresponding TV programs. An arrange guide mode is provided to enable the user to arrange the program guide in order of TV channel numbers, or in alphabetical order according to names of TV channels or TV programs. The graphical configurations of the channel changer and icons associated with the channel changer remain unchanged in any arrangement of the program guide to present TV channels and programs in a common format.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/023,904 filed Aug. 14, 1996.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to television (TV) systems, and inparticular, to a novel TV graphical user interface (GUI) that enablesusers to arrange TV channels and programs in a prescribed order.

BACKGROUND ART

The growing availability of TV broadcast and interactive servicescreates a need for a new type of a TV control system that wouldfacilitate user access to options offered by TV program providers. Forexample, direct broadcast satellite services require users to make theirselection among about a thousand TV channels with various TV programsand services. Direct television satellite broadcasting is provided viadirect broadcast satellites at an uplink frequency of 17.3 to 17.9 GHzand a downlink frequency of 12.2 to 12.7 Ghz.

A digital satellite television system for direct television broadcastingincludes a transmitter for transmitting television signals includingvideo and audio components to a satellite. The satellite retransmits thereceived television signals to an outdoor antenna assembly that includesa dish-like antenna and a block converter. The dish-like antenna directsthe received television signals to the block converter that converts thefrequencies of the received television signals to respective lowerfrequencies.

The television signals produced by the block converter are connected viaa coaxial cable to an indoor satellite receiver coupled to a TV set. Thesatellite receiver tunes, demodulates and otherwise processes thereceived television signals to provide video and audio signals with aNTSC, PAL or SECAM format suitable for processing by the TV set thatproduces an image on a display screen in response to the video signals,and an audible response by means of speakers in response to the audiosignals.

Within the transmitter, analog video and audio signals are converted torespective digital signals compressed according to the Motion PictureExpert Group (MPEG) encoding standard. The resultant digital signals arerepresented by a stream of packets including error correction data. Thetype of packets is identified by a header code. Packets corresponding tocontrol data may also be added to the packet stream.

In the MPEG standard, the video information may be transmitted in theform of a luminance (Y) component and two color difference (U and V)components. For example, the first color difference component mayrepresent the difference between the red image information and theluminance image information (R-Y), and the second color differencecomponent may represent the difference between the blue imageinformation and the luminance image information (B-Y). In addition, thecolor information is compressed because the two color differencecomponents correspond to more than one picture element. The use of colordifference components and the sharing of the color difference componentsbetween picture elements reduces the transmission bandwidth.

The digital information resulting from the compression and errorcorrection encoding is modulated on a carrier using Quaternary PhaseShift Keying (QPSK) modulation and transmitted to a satellite forretransmission.

The satellite receiver comprises a tuner for selecting the appropriatecarrier signal retransmitted by the satellite and for converting thefrequency of the selected carrier to an intermediate frequency (IF)signal. A QPSK demodulator demodulates the IF signal and supplies it toan error-correcting decoder to correct demodulated packets representingvideo and audio information. An MPEG decoder decodes and decompressesvideo and audio packets to form digital video and audio signals suppliedto a TV set. A TV set-top box serves to deliver compressed digital videoand audio signals in real time usable form to one or more TV sets.

A TV guide presenting a list of available channels and programs may bedisplayed on a TV screen to facilitate user access to TV programs andservices. In conventional TV guides, TV channels are arranged in orderof their numbers. However, as the digital satellite television systemmay provide about 1,000 TV channels with various TV programs andservices, it may be difficult to find a required channel or program if auser does not know the number of the required channel, or the number ofthe channel that carries the required program. Thus, it would bedesirable to sort TV channels and programs so as to present them in amanner that is easily searched and a desired program promptly located bya user.

Furthermore, it may be inconvenient for the user to adapt to variousformats of channel or program lists. Thus, it would be desirable topresent sorted TV channels and programs in a common format.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, one advantage of the present invention is in providing a TVGUI that enables users to sort TV channels and programs so as to presentthem in a prescribed order based on their names.

Another advantage of the present invention is in providing a TV GUI thatpresents sorted TV channels and programs in a common format.

The above and other advantages of the invention are achieved, at leastin part, by providing a television system that comprises a CPU, and a TVmonitor controlled by the CPU for displaying a TV program guideincluding a graphical channel changer having channel objects forindicating TV channels In a first mode of operations, the channelobjects are arranged according to channel numbers of the TV channels.

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, in a second mode ofoperations, the channel objects are rearranged according to names of theTV channels.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, in a third mode ofoperations, the channel objects are arranged according to names of TVprograms carried by the TV channels.

Preferably, the graphical configuration of the channel changer remainsunchanged in the second and third modes compared to the first mode.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, in a fourth mode ofoperation, the TV program guide comprises a menu having a first optionfor switching into the first mode, a second option for switching intothe second mode, and a third option for switching into the third mode.The graphical configuration of the channel changer may remain unchangedin the fourth mode compared to the first mode.

In the second mode, the channel objects may indicate the names of the TVchannels sorted in alphabetical order. In the third mode, the TVprograms are arranged in alphabetical order.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, in the secondmode, the TV program guide comprises a direct access object having agraduated scale representing names of TV channels. When a user directs apointing device at an area of the scale representing selected TV channelnames, the channel objects indicate the selected names.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, in the third mode,the TV program guide comprises a direct access object having a graduatedscale representing names of TV programs carried by the TV channels. Whena user directs a pointing device at an area of the scale representingselected program names, the channel objects indicate the TV channelsthat carry the TV programs with the selected names.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the channelchanger automatically returns from the second or third mode to the firstmode after the user makes a selection.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, in the first, secondand third modes, the TV program guide comprises an arrange guide objectfor switching the TV program guide into the fourth mode.

In accordance with a method of the present invention, the followingsteps are carried out for arranging a graphical program guide displayedon a TV monitor:

displaying a graphical channel selector having channel objects arrangedto identify a plurality of TV channels in order of channel numbers, and

rearranging the channel objects to identify the plurality of TV channelsin order of channel names so as to maintain configuration of thegraphical channel selector unchanged.

Further, the system may carry out the step of rearranging the channelobjects to identify the plurality of TV channels in order of names of TVprograms carried by the TV channels, so as to maintain configuration ofthe graphical channel selector unchanged.

Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomereadily apparent to those skilled in this art from the followingdetailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiment of theinvention is shown and described, simply by way of illustration of thebest mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will berealized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments,and its several details are capable of modifications in various obviousrespects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature,and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a satellite receiver of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a graphical object drawingprocedure.

FIG. 3 illustrates contents of a color look up table.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of interactions between aCPU and graphics accelerator.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating arrangement of pixels on a TV screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the TV GUI in a channel selector mode.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the TV GUI in a mode of a program guidearranged in order of channel numbers.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the TV GUI in an arrange guide mode.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the TV screen in a mode of a programguide arranged in order of channel names.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the TV screen in a mode of a programguide arranged in order of program names.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The best mode for practicing the invention is based on the realizationof a satellite receiver in a digital satellite television system.However, it is to be understood that the present invention is applicableto any system for receiving TV signals.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 of the drawings wherein an indoorsatellite receiver 300 includes an analog radio-frequency (RF) tuner 302such as a satellite front end demodulator manufactured bySharp/Comstream. The RF tuner 302 is coupled via an external UHF/VHF toan outdoor unit that receives incoming television signals from asatellite. The outdoor unit may comprise a 18″ antenna made of aluminumand dual low noise block converters that convert satellite signals in afrequency range from 12.2-12.7 GHz received by the antenna into the950-1450 Mhz frequency range signals.

The RF tuner 302 equipped with a local oscillator and mixer selects theappropriate carrier signal corresponding to a selected satellite TVchannel from the 950-1450 Mhz signals received from the outdoor unit.The frequency of the selected carrier is converted to an intermediatefrequency (IF) signal fed to an analog-digital converter 304 thatproduces a digital IF signal.

A digital demodulator 306 performs QPSK demodulation of the digital IFsignal and carries out multiple error correction algorithms required todecode error correction data contained in the received signal. Forexample, Viterbi and Reed-Solomon error correction algorithms may beemployed. A single ASIC manufactured by Comstream may be used as thedigital demodulator 306.

The decoded digital signal is fed to a transport chip 308 responsiblefor demultiplexing video, audio and data signals. The transport unit 308is also connected to a card 310 for providing conditional access to thesatellite receiver 300. The card 310, such as a Smart Card manufacturedby the News Data Corporation, controls access to paid channels andservices using the Data Encryption Standard (DES).

Wideband data are fed to the transport unit 308 via a wideband port 312that provides compatibility with 16:9 wide NTSC format. The widebandport is also controlled by the conditional access system. A buffer 314is used to support the transport chip operations. A 128Kx8 staticrandom-access memory (SRAM) with access speed of 70 ns may be used asthe buffer 314.

The transport chip 308 routes the video and audio signals to an MPEGdecoder 316, while data is made available to a CPU 318. The MPEG decoder316 provides decompression of the video and audio signals in accordancewith the MPEG standard. For example, a single-chip STi3520 MPEG decodermay be used. By way of example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No.5,198,901 to Lynch of Mar. 30, 1993; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,229 to Iu ofMar. 8, 1994; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,310 to Jozawa et al. of May 10,1994; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,105 to Iu of Nov. 1, 1994; to U.S. Pat. No.5,386,234 to Veltman et al. of Jan. 31, 1995; and to U.S. Pat. No.5,400,076 to Iwamura of Mar. 21, 1995. Those disclosures and citationsreferenced therein may be consulted for an understanding of the specificdetails of conventional MPEG decompression arrangements.

The MPEG decoder 316 of the preferred embodiment is supported by asynchronous RAM 320 formed by four 256K×16 DRAMs with access speed of 70ns capable of holding 3 full frames of MPEG video and audio data, andcontrol information.

Decompressed video data in YUV format is fed to a digital video encoder322. The decompressed audio data is supplied to the video encoder 322,and to a stereo audio digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 324 forconverting digital audio signals into analog form. A single-chip AK4319DAC, manufactured by Asahi Kasei, may be used as the DAC 324.

Operations of the satellite receiver 300 are supported by the CPU 318such as a Motorola 68340 CPU chip running at 16 MHz. An external watchcrystal is used to derive the 16 MHz internal clock. The CPU 318 mayhave a 16-bit external data bus and a 32-bit data bus for internaloperations. The CPU 318 may run the PSOS+operating system developed byIntegrated Systems Inc.

The CPU 318 is supported by a ROM 324, a SRAM 326 and an EEPROM 328. TheROM 324 that holds the PSOS+operating system, menus, fonts, and otherfixed data may be formed by two 4 Mbit masked ROM chips organized as 512K×8 with access speed of 95 ns.

The SRAM 326 formed, for example, by two 1 Mbit SRAM chips organized as128 K×8 with access speed of 70 ns, may be used for storing all activedata such as system stacks, variables, menu data, etc. The ROM 324 andSRAM 326 may operate at a zero wait state to provide maximumperformance.

The EEPROM 328, for example, a single 8 K×8 EEPROM chip with accessspeed of 150 ns, may store non-volatile data such as user preferences.

To enhance the graphics presentation capabilities of the satellitereceiver 300, a graphics accelerator 330, such as a MCD212 graphicsaccelerator manufactured by Motorola, is used as a co-processor. Thegraphics accelerator 330 allows the receiver 300 to increase the rate ofscreen updates and to provide up to 256 colors in a graphics image.Also, the accelerator provides graphical effects such as wipes,dissolves, fades, etc. during transitions of menus on a TV screen, andsupports operations of a remote pointing device such as an Airmouse®.This type of remote pointing device is manufactured by Seletech andAirmouse Remote Controls. The output of the graphics accelerator 330produced in RGB format is fed to a converting circuit 332 for conversioninto YUV format.

The graphics accelerator 330 may be supported by a synchronous 4 MbitRAM 334 provided, for example, on a single 256 K×16 DRAM chip withaccess speed of 70 ns. The RAM 334 used for storing graphics data iscapable of storing two graphics planes with 720×480 pixel resolution.The graphics accelerator 330 allows two graphics planes to be combinedto produce various graphical effects.

The graphics data from the conversion circuit 332, and decompressedvideo and audio data from the MPEG decoder 316, are supplied to separateinputs of the digital video encoder 322 such as a single-chip Phillips7184 encoder. The video encoder 322 is responsible for encoding digitalvideo, audio and graphics data to produce a combined composite signal inNTSC format. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,947 to Cooper of Feb. 6,1996, incorporated herewith by reference, discloses an on-screen display(OSD) arrangement that allows the graphics data to be displayed on a TVset screen together with the image represented by the received videosignals, or in place of this image. A single control bit may be used bythe video encoder 322 to switch its output from graphics data to videoand back.

The video encoder 322 also produces baseband video and audio signals.The baseband video signals are buffered by a pair of video operationalamplifiers 336 coupled to video connectors. The baseband audio signalsare fed to the stereo audio DAC 324 for converting to analog format andsupplying to audio connectors. The video and audio connectors may becoupled to such external devices as stereo receivers, TVs or VCRs.

The combined composite signal from the video encoder 322 may be fed to aNTSC modulator 338 that modulates the composite signal to either channel3 or 4 of a TV set coupled to the modulator 338. The modulator 338 alsoallows the combined composite signal to bypass a cable/antenna input ofthe TV set. Operations carried out to display video and graphical imageson the TV set screen will be described in more detail later.

The TV set coupled to the satellite receiver 300 may display graphicsdata representing a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user tocontrol operations of the satellite receiver 300, and provides useraccess to services and options offered by the digital satellite TVsystem. For example, graphics on the TV set screen may represent agraphical channel changer that enables a user to select TV channels.Another example of a graphical presentation on the TV screen is anelectronic program guide that contains names of TV programs arranged ina 2-dimensional array, in which TV channels are listed vertically, andthe time of broadcasting is listed in the horizontal direction. Variousaspects of the GUI including the graphical channel changer and theelectronic program guide are discussed in more detail later.

A modem 340, such as a single-chip SSI 1200-baud modem, is provided tosupport communications via a narrowband port 342 used for low bandwidthsignal transmission, or via a telephone jack connected to a telephoneline. For example, the modem 340 may support remote billing andinteractive services.

A microcontroller 344 such as a Phillips 87593 microcontroller providescontrol of receiver functions relating to control, interface and displaydevices arranged at the front panel of the satellite receiver 300. Amongsuch devices are a pointing device interface 346, front panel controls348, and a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) 350.

The pointing device interface 346 enables a remote optical pointingdevice such as an Airmouse® to provide a wireless control of thesatellite receiver 300. By way of example, reference is made to U.S.Pat. No. 5,045,843 to Hansen of Sep. 3, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No.5,359,348 to Pilcher et al. of Oct. 25, 1994 for descriptions ofAirmouse® arrangements and operation. For example, the pointing deviceinterface 346 may comprise an infrared (IR) transmitter and receiverthat provide infrared communications with a pointing device located upto 7 meters away from the receiver 300 at an angle of up to 45 degrees.This type of remote pointing device has been used principally for movingthe cursor of a personal computer.

The Airmouse® type pointing device in accordance with the inventionpoints directly at a TV set screen to provide direct interactionsbetween the user hand that holds the pointing device, and the TV screen.The pointing device may comprise a cursor control circuit that moves acursor on the TV screen in response to the position of the pointingdevice with respect to, for example, the IR transmitter at the frontpanel of the receiver. The pointing device interface 346 supports theGUI by providing and controlling the RF tuner 302 of the satellitereceiver to respond to random, instant user access to any point on theTV screen. Selections are made by clicking one of the buttons on thepointing device. For example, at any time when there are no graphics onthe screen, a click brings up graphical objects used in a channelchanger mode. Interactions between the GUI and remote pointing deviceare disclosed in more detail in our copending application Ser. No.08/720,501 entitled “TELEVISION GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE EMPLOYINGREMOTE RANDOM ACCESS POINTING DEVICE,” filed concurrently herewith andincorporated by reference.

In addition to the optical pointing device, a remote hand held controlunit of the satellite receiver 300 may also include several dedicatedbuttons to provide, for example, switching power ON and OFF, channel andvolume control, selection between regular TV broadcasting and satellitebroadcasting, etc.

The front panel control 348 provides control of the GUI in the eventthat the remote pointing device is missing or non-operable. The controls348 may include a TV/Satellite receiver key for switching betweenregular TV broadcasting and satellite broadcasting. Set-up, menu, clear,select or “click” keys may be provided to control modes of operation.Cursor keys may be arranged to move the cursor on the TV screen invarious directions.

The VFD 350 is provided to show current TV channel number and time.Also, the VFD 350 may indicate current incoming signal strength andother operational information.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 that illustrates drawing color graphicobjects on a TV screen accordingto the present invention. As discussedabove, the CPU 318 interacts with the graphics accelerator 330 used as acoprocessor to enhance the graphics capability of the satellite receiver300. The CPU 318 may be coupled to the graphics accelerator 330 via anexternal 24-bit address bus 402 and a 16-bit data bus 404. The 24-bitaddress bus 402 enables the CPU 318 to address up to 16 Mbytes of agraphics memory. This storage capacity corresponds to an address spacefrom 000000 to ffffff in hexadecimal notation. Various graphics memoryarrangements may be organized in this address space, as long as eachmemory location is uniquely addressable. For example, the capacity ofthe graphics memory 334 may be equal to 4 Mbit or 512 Kbytes. Assumingthat the graphics memory address space corresponds to the middle part ofthe system memory map, the $800000 hex address may be selected as thelowest graphics memory location, and the $87ffff hex address may bedesignated as the top graphics memory address. The graphics memory 334may be coupled to the graphics accelerator 330 via memory address lines406 and memory data lines 408.

The graphics accelerator 330 enables a TV set to display up to 16million different colors. However, only 256 different colors can bedisplayed on any one screen at any given time. As a result, each uniquepixel displayable on a TV screen can be represented by a single 8-bitvalue. Thus, each pixel stored in the 512 Kbyte graphics memory 334 isrepresented by a single 8-bit value or byte.

Each graphics plane stored in the graphics memory 334 is provided by arectangular array of 720×480 pixels representing a picture on the TVscreen. For example, the pixels may be stored in the graphics memory 334from top left to bottom right in row order. Thus, the top left handpixel of the screen resides at the $800000 hex graphics memory location.The second pixel on the top line 1 is stored at $800001 hex, etc. Thelast pixel of the top line 1 is held at $8002D0 hex. The first pixel ofthe next line 2 is at the $8002D1 hex graphics memory location, etc. Thebottom right hand corner of the screen corresponds to the $8545fflocation of the graphics memory 334. Thus, the graphics memoryarrangement corresponds to a rectangular X,Y-coordinate system on the TVscreen, where 720 pixels in each line of the array are arranged in thehorizontal direction X, and 480 pixels in each row of the array arearranged in the vertical direction Y.

The graphics accelerator 330 contains a color look up table (CLUT) thatconverts 256 elements representing 8-bit pixel values stored in thegraphics memory 334 into 24-bit values composed of red (R), green (G),and blue (B) bytes corresponding to R, G, and B components of a picturein RGB format. The CLUT may be programmed by the CPU 318 to reproduceany color possible in a 24-bit color space.

FIG. 3 illustrates some typical colors reproducible by the CLUT. Forexample, black color composed of red, green and blue bytes representedby $0 hex may correspond to the $0 hex location of the CLUT. White colorcomposed of the $ff hex red, green and blue bytes may correspond to the$4 hex CLUT location, etc.

When the CLUT is programmed, the CPU 318 accesses the graphics memory334 to write data values representing graphics. The graphics accelerator330 scans the graphics memory 334 at a rate of 13.5 MHz to read thegraphics data. Each 8-bit pixel value is transferred to the CLUT thatconverts it into a 24-bit color value in RGB format. As discussed above,the converter 332 converts the RGB color value into YUV format, andpasses a 24-bit digital YUV value to the digital encoder 322 thatconverts it into analog NTSC luminance and chrominance signals, forexample, at a 13.5 MHz rate. The NTSC encoding procedure carried out bythe encoder 322 is well known to those skilled in the art. The analogluminance and chrominance signals via the TV modulator 338 are suppliedto the TV set.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart that illustrates an example of interactionsbetween the CPU 318 and graphics accelerator 330 to draw a 240×240 pixelred square in the middle of a TV screen with a black background. In step602, the CPU 318 resets the graphic accelerator 330. In step 604, theCPU 318 programs the CLUT in the graphics accelerator 330 so as to setCLUT location $0 hex to reproduce black color, i.e. red, green and bluebytes in this location are set to $0 hex. In step 606, the CPU 318 setsCLUT location $1 hex to reproduce red color, i.e. a red byte in thislocation is set to $ff hex, and green and blue bytes are set to $0 hex.

In steps 608 and 610, the CPU 318 carries out a loop to make the TVscreen black. Locations $800000+I of the graphics memory 334 are set to$0 hex, for I that varies from $0 hex to $545ff hex.

In steps 612-622, the CPU 318 performs a double loop to draw the red240×240 pixel box on the screen. The double loop comprises an outer loopcarried out to set pixels in rows (Y-direction on the screen) of thegraphics memory 334 to $1 hex to reproduce them in red color, and aninner loop to set pixels in lines (X-direction) of the graphics memory334 to $1 hex to reproduce them in red color.

Graphical objects displayed on the TV screen are represented by a2-dimensional array of pixels. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the TVscreen may be represented by a 720×480 array of pixels corresponding toa graphics plane stored in the graphics memory 334. 720 pixels may bearranged on the screen in the horizontal direction X, whereas 480 pixelsmay be arranged in the vertical direction Y. To perform graphics drawingoperations, the CPU 318 may use an X, Y-coordinate system shown in FIG.5, wherein coordinates X=0, Y=0 represent the top left hand corner ofthe TV screen, and coordinates X=720, Y=480 represent the bottom righthand corner of the screen.

It should be noted that due to “overscan” conditions, a televisionreceiver may produce a raster on its screen so that pixels in thehorizontal and vertical directions may not be entirely in the view ofthe user. Therefore, TV broadcast systems prevent images from beingdisplayed outside of a “safe title” area located within approximately a10% border all around the edge of the screen. As shown in FIG. 5, thesafe title area contains approximately 576 pixels in the horizontaldirection, and 400 pixels in the vertical direction. With such a scheme,the top left hand corner of the safe title area is located at positionX=72, Y=40. The bottom right hand corner of the safe title area hascoordinates X=648, Y=440. On the discussed below diagrams thatillustrate the functional modes of the GUI, an outer solid-lined boxrepresents the edge of the TV screen, and a dash line shows the borderof the safe title area. The graphical objects displayed in various GUImodes are drawn in accordance with the graphical object drawingprocedure discussed above in connection with FIGS. 2-4.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the TV GUI of the present invention is placedin a channel changer mode that enables users to select TV channels, a TVset coupled to the satellite receiver 300 displays a graphical channelchanger 800 having a vertical channel bar that includes graphicalchannel boxes 802 representing TV channels available in the satellitereceiver 300. For example, each box 802 may contain the channel numberand logo of a TV channel. In a digital satellite TV system, the channelbar may represent about 1,000 TV channels. A restricted number of theboxes 802 may be displayed on the TV screen at any given time. Forexample, FIG. 6 shows that six boxes 802 representing channels 287-292are simultaneously displayed. The vertical channel bar may berepresented by 120×300 pixels. For example, its top left corner may havecoordinates X=122, Y=90, and its bottom right corner may be arranged atX=242, Y=390.

Up and down scroll bars 804 and 806 may be arranged near the channel barto allow a user to move up and down through the entire list of TVchannels. For example, the scroll bars 804 and 806 shown in FIG. 6represent channels 100 through 999. A single click of the pointingdevice button causes the charnel changer 800 to move up or down by onechannel with respect to the TV channels currently represented in thechannel boxes 802. For example, when the user clicks the pointing deviceheld in the direction of the up scroll bar 804, the boxes 802 will shiftfrom channels 287-292 to channels 286-291. If the pointing device pointsat the down scroll bar 806, a single click will cause the boxes 802 tomove from channels 287-292 to channels 288-293. Holding down thepointing device button may cause the list of TV channels to scrollcontinuously. A relative position indicator 808 shows the position ofthe TV channels currently displayed in the channel boxes with respect toother TV channels.

It may be difficult to find a required channel among 1,000 channelsprovided by satellite TV, when the user does not know the number of therequired channel. A direct access channel bar 810 presented next to thechannel bar has a graduated scale representing available TV channels.The numbers of the first and last channels are respectively placed onthe top and bottom of the scale. For example, the channel bar 810 hasnumbers 100 and 999 on its top and bottom indicating that TV channels100 through 999 are represented. When a user points the pointing deviceat a selected region of the channel bar 810, the channel boxes 802display numbers and logos of TV channels represented by that selectedregion. Operations of the direct access channel bar 810 are disclosed inmore detail in our copending application Ser. No. 08/747,694, entitled“TELEVISION GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE HAVING CHANNEL CONTROL BARS,” filedconcurrently herewith and incorporated by reference.

The graphical channel changer 800 allows the user to include anycombination of TV channels into a channel list to be displayed. An ovalobject 812 may be arranged below the channel bar to indicate the name ofthe currently selected channel list. Graphical buttons Choose a List andChange List Content 814 and 816, respectively, allow the user to selecta channel list and to change the contents of the list.

When the user directs the remote pointing device at a graphical buttonGUIDE 818, the graphical channel changer 800 is transformed into anelectronic program guide, as discussed in more detail later. A graphicalbutton HELP 820 causes the TV GUI to switch into a help mode to assistthe user in navigating through graphical options. Each component of thegraphical channel changer may be displayed using the above-discussedprocedure of drawing color graphic objects on a TV screen.

To switch the TV set to a required TV channel, the user directs thepointing device at the graphical channel box 802 that contains thenumber and logo of the required channel. The movement of the pointingdevice held in the user's hand causes the cursor to move to the requiredgraphical channel box 802. The coordinates of the pointing device may besupplied to the microcontroller 344 on a periodic basis, for example, 60times a second. The CPU 318 generates X, Y coordinates corresponding toa path for moving the cursor in alignment with pointing device movement.Cursor movement is achieved by multiple erasures and redraws of thecursor image performed on the path to the selected position. When therequired cursor position is reached, the user may press a select buttonon the pointing device to tune to the required channel. In response tothe user command, the CPU 318 sends a tune command to the RF tuner 302to tune the satellite receiver 300 to the required TV channel.

When the user moves the cursor over any of the graphical buttons, theychange their color to show to the user that the corresponding button isactive and if clicked on will cause the system to perform the requiredtask. When the cursor passes over any channel box 802, that box will behighlighted.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7 that illustrates a program guide modethat enables users to view TV programming information for various TVchannels. In this mode, the TV GUI of the present invention displays anelectronic program guide 900 based on the graphical channel changer 800.This arrangement allows users to review TV programming information, andthen, to select a TV channel that carries a desired TV program bydirecting the remote pointing device at the channel box 802 for theselected TV channel.

In addition to the channel changer 800, the program guide 900 compriseshorizontal program bars 902 that indicate TV programs carried by TVchannels during a predetermined time period. For example, ninety minutesof programming may be shown. Each horizontal program bar 902 is alignedwith the channel box 802 representing the TV channel that carries the TVprograms indicated in that program bar 902. Below the horizontal bars902 are time legends that indicate the time of the TV programsrepresented by the horizontal bars 902. For example, the electronicprogram guide 900 shown in FIG. 7 contains TV programming from 7 p.m. to8.30 pm.

A horizontal time scroll bar 904 may be arranged below the time legendsto enable the user to look at a TV program schedule before and after thetime indicated by the time legends. A graphical button MORE 906 allowsthe user to select any time period for which a TV program schedule isrequired. A direct access time bar 908 similar to the direct accesschannel bar 810 enables the user to access a TV program schedule for aselected region of the time bar 908 by directing the pointing device atthe selected region.

Further, the TV GUI operating in the program guide mode may maintain theup and down channel scroll bars 804 and 806, and the direct accesschannel bar 810.

Thus, the program guide 900 is formed out of the graphical channelchanger 800 when the TV GUI switches from the channel changer mode intothe program guide mode. No redrawing of the vertical channel bar isperformed. The two-dimensional program/time grid appears instantaneouslyaligned with the graphics for the channel changer. This allows the userto quickly and seamlessly go from the channel selector mode to theprogram guide mode, and thereafter, select a TV channel that carries adesired TV program by directing the remote pointing device at thechannel box 802 for the selected TV channel.

To move from the channel changer mode to the program guide mode, theuser may click the pointing device held in the direction of the GUIDEbutton 818 on the screen. Switching from one mode into another isdisclosed in more detail in our copending application Ser. No.08/720,500, entitled “TELEVISION GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE THAT COMBINESELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE WITH GRAPHICAL CHANNEL CHANGER,” filedconcurrently herewith and incorporated by reference.

In the program guide mode, the GUIDE button 818 is transformed into anARRANGE GUIDE button 918. When the user clicks the pointing devicedirected at the ARRANGE GUIDE button 918, the TV GUI switches into anarrange guide mode.

As shown in FIG. 8, the TV GUI set in the arrange guide mode displays anarrange guide menu 1000 that contains various options for arranging theprogram guide. For instance, the arrange guide menu 1000 may comprise achannel number option 1002, a channel name option 1004, and a programname option 1006. The channel number option 1002 enables a user toarrange TV channels in the program guide in order of their numbers, asshown, for example, in FIG. 7. As discussed in more detail below, thechannel name option 1004 allows TV channels in the program guide to bearranged according to their names, and the program name option 1006allows TV programs in the program guide to be sorted in alphabeticalorder. The options may be selected by clicking the pointing devicedirected at option boxes on the screen that represent the sortingoptions 1002, 1004, and 1006.

In the arrange guide mode, the program guide 900 is removed. However,the channel changer 800 displayed in the channel changer mode and in theprogram guide mode, remains unaltered. In addition to the channel boxes802, the TV GUI maintains up and down scroll bars 804 and 806, and adirect access bar 810.

By default, the TV GUI may start with the program guide having TVchannels arranged in order of their numbers, as shown in FIG. 7. In thearrange guide mode, the user may click the pointing device directed atthe channel name option box 1004 to rearrange the program guideaccording to channel names. In response, the CPU 318 performs a sortingprocedure to alphabetically sort the available TV channels in order oftheir names. When the sorting procedure is completed, the TV GUI ismoved into a mode of a program guide sorted in a alphabetical order bychannel names.

As shown in FIG. 9, in this mode, the program guide contains a channelchanger 1100 having a graphical configuration identical to theconfiguration of the channel changer 800 displayed in the GUI modesshown in FIGS. 6-8. The channel changer 1100 is composed of channelboxes 1102 positioned on the TV screen at the same locations as thechannel boxes 802 displayed in the channel changer and program guidemodes. As a result, the program guide sorted by channel names has thesame format as the program guide in FIG. 7 arranged in order of channelnumbers. Thus, the user remains in a familiar environment and does notneed to adapt to a new format on the screen.

In the program guide sorted by channel names, the channel boxes 1102 arearranged so as to display channel logos in alphabetical order from thetop to the bottom of the channel changer 1100. For example, as shown inFIG. 7, in the program guide arranged according to channel numbers, theFOX channel 291 follows the CBS channel 290 and precedes the Disney(DIS) channel 292. By contrast, in the program guide arranged in orderof channel names, the FOX channel 291 follows the CBS channel 290 andthe DIS channel 292.

The alphabetical order of channel names is reflected in the arrangementof a direct access bar 1110 having a graduated scale, in which letters Aand Z on the top and bottom of the scale replace channel numbers 100 and999 displayed in the direct access bar 810 (FIGS. 8 and 9). The lettersA and Z imply that TV channels represented by the graduated scale of thedirect access bar 1110 are arranged in alphabetical order from the topto the bottom of the bar scale. For example, if the user clicks thepointing device directed at the middle of the direct access bar 1100, TVchannels with names beginning with letters in the middle of the alphabet(for instance, L, M and N) may be displayed in the channel boxes 1102.

The program guide sorted by channel names further comprises horizontalprogram bars 902 similar to the horizontal program bars of the programguide arranged according to channel numbers. Each horizontal program bar902 is aligned with the channel box 1102 representing the TV channelthat carries the TV programs indicated in that program bar 902.

To maintain a common program guide format, all other icons displayed inthe program guide arranged in order of channel numbers remain unchangedin the program guide arranged according to channel names. For example,the arrange guide button 918 is displayed to enable the user to switchinto the arrange guide mode shown in FIG. 8 to rearrange the programguide.

In addition to sorting TV channels in order of their numbers or names,the user is able to rearrange the program guide according to programnames. When the TV GUI is set in the arrange guide mode, the user maydirect the pointing device at the program name option box 1006 to switchthe TV GUI into a mode of a program guide sorted in alphabetical orderby program names.

In response to the user input, the CPU 318 carries out a program sortingprocedure to sort TV programs to be broadcast over available TV channelsduring a predetermined time period. For example, the CPU 318 may sort TVprograms available during the half-hour slot starting from the currenttime which may be rounded to the nearest half-hour. For example, if thecurrent time is 7:12 p.m., the programs from 7.00 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. maybe sorted.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the GUI mode of a program guide sorted byprogram names, the program guide contains a channel changer 1200 havingthe graphical configuration identical to the configuration of thechannel changers 800 and 1100 displayed in the GUI modes shown in FIGS.6-9. The channel changer 1200 is composed of channel boxes 1202positioned on the TV screen at the same locations as the channel boxes802 and 1102 displayed in the above-discussed modes. Thus, the programguide sorted by program names has the same format as the program guidesarranged in order of channel numbers, and names.

The horizontal program bars 902 that contain information on TV programsare aligned with the channel boxes 1202 representing TV channels thatcarry the TV programs indicated in the program bars 902. As discussedabove, the CPU 318 may sort TV programs for the current half-hour slot.In this case, the program bars 902 also contain only information on TVprograms for the current half-hour slot. For example, FIG. 10 shows thatthe horizontal program bars 902 indicate TV programs from 7.00 p.m. to7.30 p.m. As no information on TV programs for future time periods isavailable, the program guide sorted by program names does not have thetime scroll bars and direct access time bar displayed in the GUI modesshown in FIGS. 7-9. The MORE button 906 may be provided to enable theuser to utilize additional features of the TV GUI, for example, themeselection capability.

TV channels displayed in the channel boxes 1202 are arranged accordingto names of TV programs to be carried by the TV channels. The TVprograms are listed in program bars 902 in alphabetic order. The channelbox 1202 indicating a TV channel that carries a TV program, the name ofwhich begins with letter A, is arranged above the channel box 1202 for aTV channel carrying a TV program, the name of which begins with letterB. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the Disney channel 292, thatcarries a TV program beginning with letter M, follows the ABC channel287, that carries a TV program beginning with letter E, but proceeds theCBS channel 290, that carries a TV program beginning with letter W. TVchannels that carry TV programs, names of which begin with digits, maybe arranged before TV channels carrying programs that begin withletters.

A direct access bar 1210 has a graduated scale from A to Z to representTV channels arranged according to names of their programs. For example,if the user clicks the pointing device directed at the middle of thedirect access bar 1200, TV channels that carry TV programs with namesbeginning with letters in the middle of the alphabet (for instance, L, Mand N) may be displayed in the channel boxes 1202.

To keep a common format, the arrangements associated with the channelchanger 1200, including channel scroll bars 804 and 806, and relativeposition indicator 808, are maintained unchanged compared to the channelchangers 800 and 1100 arranged according to channel numbers and names(FIGS. 6-9).

When the user makes any selection using the program guides sorted bychannel names or program names, the TV GUI automatically returns to thechannel changer arranged in order of channel numbers. Thus, no manualswitch into the initial state is needed.

There accordingly has been described a TV graphical user interface thatincludes a graphical channel changer for enabling a user to select arequired TV channel among about 1000 channels provided by a satellite TVsystem. The graphical channel changer contains a vertical channel barcomposed of channel boxes that display numbers and logos of selected TVchannels. To switch the TV set to a required TV channel, the userdirects the pointing device at the graphical channel box that indicatesthe required channel. A program guide that contains a list of TVprograms may be provided based on the channel changer. Vertical programbars that display TV programs are aligned with the channel boxesindicating TV channels that carry the corresponding TV programs. Anarrange guide mode is provided to enable the user to arrange the programguide in order of TV channel numbers, or in alphabetical order accordingto names of TV channels or TV programs. The graphical configuration ofthe channel changer and icons associated with the channel changerremains unchanged in any arrangement of the program guide to present TVchannels and programs in a common format.

In this disclosure, there are shown and described only the preferredembodiments of the invention, but it is to be understood that theinvention is capable of changes and modifications within the scope ofthe inventive concept as expressed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A television (TV) system comprising: a CPU, and aTV monitor controlled by said CPU for displaying a TV program guideincluding a graphical channel changer having channel objects forindicating TV channels, wherein in a first mode of operation, saidchannel objects are arranged by said CPU according to numbers of said TVchannels, and in a second mode of operation, said channel objects arearranged by said CPU according to names of said TV channels; and wherebysaid graphical channel changer allows selection of a desired TV programfor viewing.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein graphical configurationof said channel changer remains unchanged between said second modecompared to said first mode.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein in athird mode of operations, said channel objects are arranged according tonames of TV programs carried by said TV channels.
 4. The system of claim3, wherein graphical configuration of said channel changer remainsunchanged in said third mode compared to said first mode.
 5. The systemof claim 3, wherein in a fourth mode of operation, said TV program guidecomprises a menu having a first option for switching into said firstmode, a second option for switching into said second mode, and a thirdoption for switching into said third mode.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein graphical configuration of said channel changer remainsunchanged in said fourth mode compared to said first mode.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein in said second mode, said channel objects indicatethe names of said TV channels sorted in alphabetical order.
 8. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein in said third mode, said TV programs arearranged in alphabetical order.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein insaid second mode, said TV program guide further comprises a directaccess object having a graduated scale representing the names of said TVchannels.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein said channel objectsindicate a selected group of the names of said TV channels when a userdirects a pointing device at an area of said scale representing saidselected group.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein in said third mode,said TV program guide further comprises a direct access object having agraduated scale representing the names of said TV programs carried bysaid TV channels.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein said channelobjects indicate a group of said TV channels carrying TV programs withselected names, when a user directs a pointing device at an area of saidscale representing said selected names.
 13. The system of claim 3,wherein said TV program guide further comprises TV program objects forindicating the TV programs carried by said TV channels and are similarlydisplayed in said first second and third modes.
 14. The system of claim13, wherein said TV program objects are aligned with said channelobjects.
 15. The system of claim 3, wherein said channel changerautomatically returns from said second and third modes to said firstmode when a user makes a selection.
 16. The system of claim 5, whereinin said first, second and third modes, said TV program guide comprisesan arrange guide object for switching said TV program guide into saidfourth mode.
 17. A system for displaying a graphical user interface(GUI), comprising: a CPU, and a display controlled by said CPU fordisplaying the GUI including: a channel selector displayed in a channelselection mode of the GUI and having channel objects for defining TVchannels, and enabling a user to switch a TV receiver to a selected TVchannel by directing a pointing device at a channel object defining saidselected channel, and a TV program schedule displayable, together withsaid channel selector, in program guide modes of the GUI for indicatingTV programs carried by the TV channels, wherein in a first of saidprogram guide modes, said channel objects are arranged according tonumbers of the TV channels, in a second of said program guide modes,said channel objects are arranged according to names of the TV channels,and in a third of said program guide modes, said channel objects arearranged according to names of the TV programs.
 18. The system of claim17, wherein said channel selector is displayed in a program guidearrange mode of said GUI, together with a menu box having options forswitching into one of said first, second and third of the program guidemodes.
 19. In a television system having a graphical channel selectorwith a plurality of channel objects for identifying a plurality of TVchannels, a method of arranging a graphical program guide displayed on aTV monitor to show a schedule of TV programs carried by said pluralityof TV channels, comprising the steps of: displaying said graphicalchannel selector having the channel objects arranged to identify saidplurality of TV channels in order of channel numbers, and rearrangingsaid channel objects to identify said plurality of TV channels in orderof channel names so as to maintain configuration of said graphicalchannel selector unchanged.
 20. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising the step of rearranging said channel objects to identify saidplurality of TV channels in order of names of the TV programs carried bythe TV channels, so as to maintain configuration of said graphicalchannel selector unchanged.